


What was missing

by Akira10



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, M/M, assassins!keith, mayor!Shiro, the assassins au no one wanted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 16:12:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15952925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akira10/pseuds/Akira10
Summary: In where Keith is an assassin and Shiro is his next target.Many times he has heard that people had to do certain—unethical—things out of pure necessity, Keith always thought that between dying or going against his principles he would rather die. But after tasting what the life of necessity was, after being so close to death so many times, he didn’t know anymore.Then years later, Keith an assassin of the undergroud is asked to kill the new mayor, a man that hasn't done anything wrong.





	What was missing

**Author's Note:**

> This is my application for the [ NOVA ](https://hanakotobazine.tumblr.com/) zine!

Many times he has heard that people had to do certain—unethical—things out of pure necessity; robbing stores, selling illegal merchandise, even committing murder, the list was way too big for him to remember or to even care. Either way, Keith always thought that between dying or going against his principles he would rather die. He was raised with that kind of mentality, he was raised in that kind of family.

His family didn’t have much, he and his father struggled every day to get by, but they’re happy, Keith really thought that as long as they had each other things would be alright.

When he was 13 years old, his father died. One day he was a normal boy with a loving father, the other he was nothing more than a mere orphan that had to use the little he had to give his father a proper burial.

At the start he managed to survive, hunger wasn’t something new to Keith, when his father was alive things were hard, even having three meals a day was weird; he could get used to having to rummage around the thrash hoping to find something to sell, even having to sleep on the streets wasn’t as hard.

The first months were hard, but he survived; after 4 months his ribs could be seen easily, his voice got much raspier and his height stayed the same; 8 months later, his clothes were full of holes, he couldn’t remember when was the last time he got a proper meal; he couldn’t even remember the sound of his own voice.

Keith was just like any other beggar, injured all over his body, with a few ribs broken and dying of starvation. Just like any other beggar that just so happened to knew how to use a knife.

Years ago his father gifted a knife that used to belong to his deceased mother, he even taught him some basic self-defense, and after almost a year of living in the streets he had learned how to use it correctly, how to attack in case any other beggar wanted to steal his food, how to protect himself if he was attacked by a stronger opponent.

He wasn’t proud of it, but it was a necessity.

But he never thought that one day, after he was badly injured in a fight and almost on the verge of dying in an alley, that a man from the underground would approach him. The man didn't speak much, he simply praised his knife abilities and offered him a hand; there wasn't any need for words.

They both knew what was going on.

Joining the underground, or dying on the streets.

When his father was still alive, when he still had a roof under his head; the answer may have seen obvious, but after tasting what the life of necessity was, after being so close to death so many times, he didn’t know anymore.

After hesitating for some minutes he finally grabbed the man hand.

_Ten years later_

A sigh left Keith’s lips as he absent-mindedly listened to James’ report about their next target. It has been ten years since he left his old beggar life behind, ten years of killing people for his work.

His eyes wandered towards the window next to him, hearing the children laughs from afar, everything seemed to be so far away from the little dark room in where he was living. Happiness, laughter even the warm of having someone next to him, it all was so strange to him now.

He left everything behind once he grabbed that man’s hand.

Keith sighed again while his hand went to touch the handle of his knife.

“Are you even listening, Keith?” James’ tired voice brought him back to reality, he only spared him a glance before sighing yet again.

“I don’t need a report, you know?” He took the knife out of its sheath and started playing with it to James disgust. “Just tell me who it is.” He added bluntly.

This time it was James the one who sighed. “I’m giving you a report because this time is a hard one, Keith.” The man in front of him could only rub his forehead frustrated. “Can’t you spare some minutes of your damn busy life to listen for once?!”

James was another assassin from the same underground group as him, he was even recruited the same day. Both were beggars that had nothing else but themselves.

Or it would be like that if they actually got along.

Keith only bear with him because the higher-ups told him to, he was too impulsive they would say and so they assigned James to work with him, someone that could think rationally if their plans were to fail. But neither of them work together, each did their own thing only getting together at the start and at the end.

The higher-ups wouldn't speak up as long as the people that had to be killed were killed.

“Tell me a name.” He finally compromised, but the knife kept on swinging from one of his hand to the other. _What is with all this secrecy?_ He just wanted to get done with everything so he could take some time away from everything.

"Shirogane Takashi," James answered annoyed. "He is the mayor of this town, even an idiot like you knows that, right?"

“The mayor?” He asked with interest ignoring the rest of what James said. “Corruption? Did he steal something valuable?”

"He didn't," James said as he read the report. "The guy has done nothing wrong. He is loved by the people and he got the power rightly. His hands are cleaner than what your have ever been."

“Who did he offend then?” He answered with even more interest, his eyebrow raising and his hand holding the knife tightly. If his work has taught him anything, was that none was killed without a reason.

A man that looked innocent but that was hiding a drug business underneath, a family man with a gambling depth that he couldn’t pay, a luxurious woman that got involved with the wrong people. He has seen everything, he was sure that no one was innocent.

“No one.” James looked at him straight in the eye. “He hasn’t done anything but good.” He was dead-serious and so was Keith. “Our men couldn’t find anything either, it’s almost as if he pooped out of nowhere.”

“So he is hiding something?” He was unusually serious, even James seemed to be surprised about it.

“Most likely.” James put down the report and looked at him with interest. “He is giving a speech at the plaza today, are you going to check it out?”

Before James could even finish his sentence, he had already grabbed his cloak and cover himself with it, only his mouth could be seen. "I'm going to end it." And with that, he was gone.

In a normal town, an assassin like him wouldn't dare to walk around the streets during the day, openly exposing himself like that would be unthinkable for a normal assassin. But the little town is where he lived was different from that, in the town all the people knew and feared the underground, but even like that, almost half of the population had a deal with them, be it money for them or their family, protection for their shops or their house, every day that passed more and more people got involved with them.

And so, most people knew of Keith and James, they were the ones that people didn’t want to see at their houses at night, but as long as they had their minds—and debts—clear there was nothing to fear, and they all knew that Keith wouldn’t treat them badly unless it was necessary.

But even like that, the people would still look at him in fear whenever he walked near them, some others would whisper between them, and the kids would quiet down when they saw him.

Between stares and whispers, he finally got to the plaza. Quietly he moved towards the back of the crowd and patiently waited for the speech to begin.

_A man that hasn’t done anything wrong… What are you hiding Mayor Shiro?_

His thoughts were here and there as he took a bite out of an apple that one of the citizens gave him.

_There can’t be anyone that is innocent… There can’t be…_

But as Keith was lost in his thoughts the speech started, and that’s when time stopped for him.

In front of him—and the crowd—a tall man with completely white hair walked on the platform. There was a bright smile on his face, a scar over his nose, and even from the distance, he could see how determinate the man’s eyes were. His voice was deep and sure of himself.

He didn’t really pay attention to what he was saying, but he was completely out of words.

That man… That man had something different.

_Mayor Shiro…_ It was as if his eyes were completely enchanted with the mayor, he couldn’t look away, he could move.

It was until the speech has ended and when the mayor was leaving that he finally came back to reality. The apple that he was eating fell to the floor at some point, the same as the cloak that was hiding his face.

And even then, it took him a few more minutes before he finally covered his face and went back to the dark alley, holding his chest tightly, trying to calm down the fast beating of his heart.

_I… What is going on?!_

He knew that it wasn't normal, in all his life it was the first time that he got so enchanted with someone; for an assassin like him to space out like that, it wasn't good.

He had to retread, report to James that he couldn't carry out the mission and bear with the consequences later.

And yet, instead of going to the old house he lived in, his legs were moving towards the mayor’s house automatically, his heart beating faster at the excitement of seeing the man one more time.

He wasn't sure of what was happening, an assassin wasn't supposed to be interested in his target…

It took him only some minutes to arrive at the mayor's house, and from what he could see, the mayor himself arrived some minutes before him.

Carefully he walked to the side of the old house and without a problem he climbed up the wall so he could see through the window of what he knew was the mayor's room.

To his own surprise as soon as he looked throughout the window the sight of the mayor's back caught his eyes once more.

Inside the room the man was opening a chest on the floor, Keith could see what he thought was the man taking a change of clothes out of it before turning to see where he was all of the sudden.

In less than a second, he hid under the window and climbed down, running towards his house as fast as his legs let him.

That was supposed to be the last time he saw the mayor, he said so to himself again and again when he got to his house. He was going to speak to James, he was going to go to another town and come back when the job was done.

That's how it was supposed to be, and yet, the next night he went back, and the next one, before knowing, two weeks passed.

Whenever James asked he only brushed it away saying that he was gathering info, but the higher-ups were starting to get a little anxious. If he was going to do it, it had to be fast.

But how could he? After two weeks of studying Shiro, he couldn't deny the obvious interest he had for the man, whatever feeling that was, he didn't want it to end so soon.

He enjoyed the occasional smiles Shiro would make when he thought he was alone, he didn't hate how his heart would beat faster at the sight of the man, and the few times he happened to caught Shiro naked, he couldn't deny what the man did to his body.

For someone like him who left everything behind ten years ago, having any sort of feelings was a whole new experience, he really treasured them, and without notice, he started yearning for the man as well.

That day he climbed up the wall, as usual, his heart already beating a little faster, his mind fantasizing about what Shiro may do that day.

But unexpectedly, what received him was the sight of an empty room and an open window.

_No way!_ He froze immediately, it couldn't be, right? He was the one in charge of it, no one else should be there apart from him. _Did they… Did James…?!_

“Who are you?” The familiar voice came out right next to him,  and when he turned his head the man he has been yearning for was looking right back at him, his black eyes focused on him, for a moment the two of them didn't know how to react. “Oh, so it's you!” The man laughed awkwardly, but the smile was sincere.

In another moment he would have really treasured that smile, but in that situation, where Shiro had acknowledged his existence like that, in where he was even giving him a smile… Keith didn't know what to say or do.

“You…” His voice came out even raspier than usual. “You know… me?”

"I do," Shiro answered almost immediately before looking around. "Wanna come in? It's weird to talk like this.” He added as he was rubbing the back of his neck, a silly smile on his face.

Keith only nodded before entering through the window completely awkwardly, the normal agility that he had as an assassin was completely gone. _He knows me…_ With his mind going crazy he only sat on the floor looking at Shiro with expecting eyes.

“Well,” the man laughed, “I have been waiting for an assassin to come, but I didn't expect that it would be you. Are you the one who has been watching me?” He could only nod surprisingly embarrassed of himself. "And you're the one that has been coming to my speeches, right?" At that, he only looked at the floor, his ears a little bit red.

“You… knew?”

"Of course, I have lived in this town all my life, I know of the underground," Shiro explained and he only nodded absent-mindedly. “I knew they wanted to kill me since I became mayor. You guys don't do well with people that want to change the town, huh?”

He felt really conflicted, after watching Shiro for all those weeks he knew that he was truly a good man, it was because of it; because the people would listen to what he had to say, that the boss wanted him dead.

“I just never thought that my killer would be someone that listened to what I had to say.” He laughed.

“I don't want to kill you!” He spoke up suddenly, and they both looked at each other in silence. “I'm not here for that…” He whispered, avoiding Shiro's eyes in the process.

“Then… You don't do it because you enjoy it? Killing I mean.” He could feel the curiosity in his voice, but he still didn't dare to look at him. “Oh, you don't have to answer!”

"They… saved me when I was dying…" He wasn't one to speak much of himself. But he couldn't quite refuse if it was Shiro asking. "This is the only thing I know how to do... But I don't want to hurt you." He quickly added the last part and Shiro only smiled at him.

After that, they kept on talking about everything and anything, even for someone like him who has forgotten what being next to someone felt like, being with Shiro was so natural, almost as if being next to him was the place that he truly belonged to.

The days kept on passing and they kept on growing closer and closer, the air between them was so ambiguous and deep inside him, the feelings he was trying so hard to hold back, the heart he tried so hard to hide, it was all coming back to him.

All of his hard work, all of the walls he built to protect himself were destroyed by Shiro in just a few weeks. And all of the sudden, after years of not wanting anything, after years of merely living, he finally found something he wanted.

“Shiro.” He called and the hand that was ruffling his hair stopped.

That was their daily life now, Keith would stay on Shiro's room as much as he could, they often laid down on the same bed to talk, other he would rest his head on Shiro's lap as the man was doing his work, at the moment, it was the latest.

“Hm?” Was Shiro only answer as he kept on signing some papers.

“I want to be with you…” The seriousness in his voice made Shiro stop with what he was doing. “Can I? Even if...”

But before he could finish Shiro only smiled while lowering his head and giving him a quick kiss on his lips. They often kissed like that, he almost couldn't contain the happiness in his heart whenever it happened.

“I thought it was obvious that you were going to stay with me, Keith?”

**Author's Note:**

> Having to write something under 2.5K words was extremely hard! (I even fail hahaha)  
> I would have loved to make this one a lot bigger, but who knows maybe I'll continue it somewhere in the future? I'll see how it goes.
> 
> But thank you for reading, if anyone enjoyed it, then I'll be really happy!  
> I have a [ tumblr ](http://akira-mess.tumblr.com) as well if any of you want to come and chat!


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